SpheroScan · On-line, real-time biosensor for monitoring bioprocesses and food production using µBeads sensor technology to optimize production processes and ensure food safety

The food industry is highly competitive, and the stakeholders involved in it are looking for innovations to differentiate themselves from competitors, become more efficient and reduce risks. In this context, food quality, particularly food safety, has attracted significant attention and represents a promising market. Factors affecting growth include an increasing number of foodborne diseases, heightened regulatory attention and the growing adoption of new technologies related to food safety.FluIDect’s SpheroScan® is the first Industry 4.0 compatible sensor for microbial analysis in food production plants, representing a huge breakthrough since the state-of-the-art has been to take samples for subsequent analysis in a laboratory (rapid tests also exist, but only for some contaminants and with limited performance). It is based on a novel approach to label-free bacterial and fungal detection named Fluorescent Resonator Signature (FRS).This will yield major customer benefits, such as short time to result (below 10 minutes instead of several days), identification of specific targets, high sensitivity (1 CFU/ml), quantification of specific targets, and automation.FluIDect will address different stakeholders as potential customers: food producers and farms, food testing labs, and systems integrators. In our discussions and proofs of concept with these stakeholders, we verified their willingness to pay. We will enter the market through food producers and farms to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of using SpheroScan. Later, we will move on to Food Testing Labs, allowing us to reach many more customers and improve our solution. Subsequently, we will partner with relevant system integrators for food processing equipment, enabling us to cross the chasm and integrate our solution seamlessly into the factory infrastructure. This staggered GoToMarket strategy will facilitate a quick scale-up, establishing us as the reference for pathogen testing in food.